terrydtx

We just returned from Aus/NZ last week after 6 weeks and 2 B2B cruises. NZ is very protective of their environment and agriculture, and they have a lot of media that reiterates this. We flew home from Melbourne to Houston through Aukland on Air New Zealand. After the safety video for flying they run a video on what is prohibited to bring into NZ even if you are passing through on a connecting flight. You have to fill in declaration cards before you land and go through NZ customs in Aukland. We had to do the same when we had our first port stop in Dunedin NZ on the Edge. Honey is one of the most prohibited of any food item as the bee industry in NZ is very delicate and NZ officials want to protect it from diseases and parasites that could be in foreign honey, We visited a Kiwi Fruit orchard and this is a 4 billion dollar a year export industry that is 100% dependent on bee pollination which could be wiped out if the local bee population were to be destroyed.

We had the Premium Starlink Wi-Fi on the Apex last September and the Edge in January in Australia and had no problems streaming Netflix and Prime on my laptop and tablets. Since we were outside of North America on both cruises, we could not stream Hulu, Fubo and Paramount because of geographic limitations by the providers not Starlink.

We had fresh squeezed OJ on the Apex last September in both Luminae and the Suites enhanced room service menu. I believe any place else, if available, you have to pay for it or have the PDP. Was the same for us in January on the Edge in Australia.

Our check in time was also noon which was the earliest available, but I knew with being in the Retreat we could check in earlier. Judging by the number of people already in lines many, as usually, were not adhering to their assigned check in times.

Hi Jim, I didn’t do a live feed for the 2 cruises, took a break from CC to just enjoy our 6 weeks down under. We stayed at the Shangri-La hotel at the port on Circular Quay, dropped our luggage off at 11am, and checked in. There were lines to check in for Retreat guests and as soon as we checked in we were told to board, so couldn’t ’say if there was a Retreat lounge waiting area. At 11:00 there were hundreds of people in lines dropping off luggage and checking in ahead of us, so my guess is luggage drop off opened much earlier. There was no Retreat luggage drop off lines, so the longest wait was that line. Next longest wait was customs and Secuity scans and checks. We were on the ship by noon as I remember. Overall, I would say it was an organized and efficient embarkation process.

On the Edge last month, we ate once in Fine Cuts because we wanted a good prime rib, something not available any night in Luminae. The Prime rib was as good as any land restaurant, but not worth the cost, we had plenty of OBC to burn which is why we went. Compared to the terrible quality of steaks served in Luminae on the Apex last September, the steaks we had in Luminae on the Edge were excellent.

My wife asked for her lamb chops to be replaced with ones medium rare as ordered. However, the replacements where so full of fat and gristle that they were even more inedible. We then complained to the manager and he offered to comp us another night for diner, our response was no thank you, we do not want to waste another night in the grill.

Not that I remember, but they did have blankets if requested. We were not impressed with both the food and service.

We were on the Koningsdam last November and surprised with the small selection of items available at the ship store in the Liquor area. My wife needed something for her cough and all that was available was Ricola cough drops. Had to wait until we were at port and find a local store.

We had a terrible experience with Roof Top Grill last September on the Apex. Not only was it windy and cold but our steaks and lamb chops were over cooked and tough. We much prefer the Fine Cuts steak house and only order the Prime Rib.

We have found ordering an Uber once we have our luggage and exit the terminal is much faster than waiting in the taxi lines. Take an Uber is my recommendation.

Just got back from 22 days on the Edge in Australia and all 4 MDR were anytime dining, no set dining times anymore, just show up when and where you want and if there is a waiting time you can go to any of the other 3. You can, however, make dining reservations in the MDR, but to be honest you do not need them.

You are 100% correct, we just returned from 22 days on the Edge in Australia. All posted drink prices have to include all taxes and gratuities and the drink menus for the Australian season were changed to reflect these changes. At the same time the PDP cap was raised to $20 and we not once had to pay more than $20, we were in the retreat and that also covered the Retreat lounge and deck bars. We also have a nice selection of local Aussie and NZ wines available that never showed up on any menu but were included in PDP cap of $20 per glass. We just asked our sommelier in Luminae for the local wines at meals.

Yes you have to complete all check ins online for all cruises. Each B2B leg is treated like a new cruise.

We also just got back from our B2B Edge cruises in Australia. And what you say is exactly how it worked for us on January 25th. The only exception is we were in the retreat and we got our sail pass cards for the second cruise from the retreat managers the night before we got back to Sydney. We had booked a private walking tour of the Rocks which we did after we got off the ship and cleared Australian customs at 9:30 and retuned before 1pm. Our second crise departed Sydney at 4pm and everyone both old and new passengers had to be back on board by 90 mins before departure or 2:30pm. We also had to repeat the muster procedure for the second cruise after we reboarded.

From what I was told many have moved on to other jobs on other lines, some stayed with Celebrity in other roles than butler. The changes all happened in August last year and the butlers let go had to find a job for the last 6 months. It takes time to find new people and train them properly, can't be done overnight. I hope that the better butlers will be offered a chance to return to their old jobs. One other thing I forgot to mention in my original post of our B2B cruise. Some of the former premium wines in the PDP that were not available the first leg of our cruise became available the second leg, one I remember was Decoy Cabernet. Unfortunately, one of my favorites, Cherry Pie Pino Noir did not come back on the PDP.

We just returned from 22 days on the Edge in Aus/NZ. We did both private and ship wine excursions in NZ and brought back bottles of wine onboard from both. We had them in my back pack and put them through the security scanner. They were checked by security and once they saw they were wine they let us keep them to take back to our cabin. I took a bottle to Luminae and since we had a drinks package we were not charged any corkage fee as well.

We returned last week from 22 days B2B on the Edge in Australia and New Zealand in a Sky Suite. There were several changes from our first non butler SS cruise last September on the Apex. First our room attendant had the title "Retreat Host" on his card, on the Apex that title was not given. I was able to call him directly anytime of day for things we needed, like ice and having our cabin made up when we left in the mornings and evenings. The other change, we prefer to have breakfast in our cabin every morning and we had the same crew member deliver our order every morning of the cruise, he got to know what we liked and disliked about our orders, and he would call our cabin every morning just before delivery. He even offered to set up our table and pour our first cup of coffee. This service was just like what we got from our old butler service and was not available on the Apex when breakfast was never delivered by the same person. Having the same delivery person also made it easy to give him an extra tip for the whole cruise. Our Retreat Host was just as efficient as any previous butler with the exceptions of not being able to deliver drinks from the bar or stock our mini bar with drinks as was done prior to the butler changes. He did keep a good supply of bottled water in our cabin and fridge at no charge to us, not Evian like in the past, but the water was a good quality spring water produced in New Zealand. We tried to get Vitamin water as in the past but it was not available on the ship anymore. I did discuss the butler changes with our Retreat Host and he confirmed that Celebrity was going to bring back dedicated butlers as soon as they could be hired and trained. He was leaving the Edge after our cruise and going home for a 2 month visit and then starting a new contract on the Ascent as a new dedicated butler. We were very disappointed with the deficiencies on the Apex by not having a butler, but our Edge experience was so much better. For now we are taking a break from Celebrity to wait and see how the changes are going. However, the one thing that will keep us away are the ridiculous SS pricing of future cruises and I do not see those prices dropping as long as people continue to book them.

Nowhere or time are jackets required on any HAL ship, purely optional.

@81Zoomie, We just docked in Dunedin NZ. When we boarded the Edge on Saturday we met the Head Butler and curiously he introduced our room steward as our "Retreat Host". He is absolutely the worst room steward or host of any cruise, he is brand new and IMO very poorly trained. Service in Luminae has been painfully slow but the food quality has been far superior to our Apex cruise last September. No complaints about the Retreat lounge they have plenty of my Buffalo Trace Bourbon and a fair selection of Australia and NZ wines included with no surcharge. Overall it has been a great cruise more by the itinerary and people onboard than the ship. We have made several friendships with some delightful incredible Aussies. Sydney is a fantastic city with so many friendly people.

I was just in the Edge Retreat Lounge and we still have the old wine menu, will wait to see what we get tonight in Luminae.

Yes Bombay is available in Retreat and other bars, along with several other premium labels. I have no idea why the late boarding for our next cruise. We were onboard by 11:30 for our current cruise, maybe we are getting in later than expected to Sydney.

Most likely he is not vaping pot, but vaping liquid THC which has no pot odor.

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Here is what we are being told are the only wines available in Edge Retreat Lounge.